My New Best Friend: a lucarioRiolu Fanfiction
by LucarioLover23
Summary: THIS is my first story ever. its about my favorite pokemons lucario and riolu!. the story is about a young man who encounters a riolu and must go through the difficult task of raising him right.
1. Chapter 1

My new best friend:

It was a sunny day in Canalave City. The sun was shining bright and the little birds were chirping and singing all over town. The day was beautiful. But for our 15 year old Alex Christensen, it was just like any other crapy day with the same routine: Getting up at 6:30, taking a quick shower and head off to school where he had to keep up with the craziest teachers. Life was quite boring for Alex; ever since he stopped traveling, life had become miserable. To give you a little more information, Alex was a pokemon trainer, a very good trainer actually. His loyal Prinplup, his energetic Ponyta and his noble Staraptor formed his team. Alex had won four gym badges already, but decided to quit traveling to go back to school. He was anxious, and couldn't way till vacations started to continue his journey. To leave his home and be free once again. To be able to smell the fresh air and have great adventures with his Pokemon. And that day was tomorrow. What Alex didn't know, was that today was rather special. Yeah sure, it was the last day of school year, but something even better was about to happen...

it was 3:54 in the afternoon, and Alex couldn't wait for the last bell to ring. The bell that would signify the end of school; the bell that would resume his beloved journey. He was currently in Math class.

"What an excellent way to finish the school year" Alex thought sarcastically as he stared at the clock.

"Just five more minutes,I can get through this!" "certainly it would be ten times easier to wait if this bitch wasn't blabbing about algebra though..."

What were just five minutes seemed live 5 hours,but when the bell finally rung for the last time in the day, Alex run to his locker, grabbed his things and raced down home. Usually his mom would pick him up, but she had some errands to do, so Alex decided to walk home, it wasn't that far anyway...

But as much as Alex wanted to get home and pack his things for tomorrow, something, or rather "someone" caught his attention on the way home. Alex was walking down the old road near the forest around Canalave City, when a little shadow moved unsteadily. Alex thought it was his imagination, but he wasn't seeing things. He actually saw a shadow in the forrest. He thoughts were confirmed when he heard a cry; a cry for help to be more exact. Alex, not knowing why, decided to go into the forrest. As he approached the shadow it became clear to him. It was a little puppy with light blue fur and a dark mask around the eyes and torso, it was a Riolu! Alex had always wanted to have a Riolu ever since he won his gym match against Maylene, but he had never seen this Pokemon around the region. Sure, Riolus are native to Sinnoh, but they were still quite rare. But something was wrong about this little guy. Its body was covered in scratches, bruises and gashes; blood was even dripping on some of his wounds.

"Oh gosh your injured!" "I can't leave you here, you'll die if I do!"

Alex scanned the area surrounding them to see if he could found the little pup's trainer or any sign of its owner, maybe a pokeball or name collar. To Alex amusement, the only thing he could find was a piece of "shard". It look like a broken piece of something. After looking at the piece even further, Alex figured it out. It was a piece of a broken egg! Alex walked a little further, not loosing track of the damaged pup, and found what he was looking for. The broken egg was smashed to pieces, but it still resembled the shard Alex had found. The egg was a dark navy blue with black spots all over it, it was clearly a Riolu egg; and that meant the little dog was a newborn.

"How in Earth did that little pup got so injured? Did it rolled over the hill and smashed itself?" "Well thats not important right now! I better get this little guy to a Pokemon Center right away!"

Alex got near the baby Riolu and tried to carefully pick it up. But it was useless...the poor thing got scared and started growling at Alex as soon as it felt his hands wrap around him.

"Easy little pup" "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm trying to help you here!"

As much as Riolu wanted to bite Alex, he simply couldn't, his energy was drained out, he couldn't even move. As the growling started fading, Alex picked up Riolu and hugged him as the damaged dog started fainted in his arms.

"Don't worry buddy!" "You'll be fine,I promise! Alex said as he started running with Riolu crying in his arms

It was 5:00 pm and it was getting late. The sky was changing to a beautiful orange and the sun began to set.

"If I don't get this guy to a Pokemon Center soon, my moms gonna start to worry about me. I should be home by now! Alex said looking sadly at the fainted puppy. As Alex started sprinting down the old road Riolu started moving.

"Ri...rio..." Said the Pokemon faintly, as if asking for help.

"Don't worry Riolu! I told you you would be find, and I always keep my promises!" He said in a reassuring tone.

"Damit! Its really getting late! And I don't remember quite well how to get to the Pokemon Center from here...maybe i should ask for directions...

Alex saw a man on the other side of the street and decided to ask him.

-"Hey! Excuse me sir! Do you know how to get to the Pokemon center from here?"

-"The Pokemon center? Thats quite a long run from here kid...a 45 minute walk.

-"A 45 MINUTE WALK!? Are you kidding me!? I'll never make it!

-"Sorry kid...I don't now what to tell you...

-"Its ok don't worry sir...

"Dam! It would take me forever to get to The Pokemon center. This little guy would die if I go, its just a matter of time until it gets weaker." Alex though...

"On the other hand if I go home, I could ease his wounds for the day and take him tomorrow morning for a check out, and it would only take me 10 minutes to get home..."

"Rio...ri ri!" Said Riolu...Was he understand what Alex was thinking? It seemed he was almost barking "do it!"

"Alright! Im taking you home!"

A fainted smile formed on Riolu's face and he closed his eyes once again.

It was starting to rain when Alex got home and slammed the door open. His mom, worried and surprised came to help him.

-"honey where were you!?" "I was getting really worried!" "Your sisters even got home first!"

-"sorry mom, its an emergency, I can explain later. Now help me out here!

-"whats that!? I've never seen that Pokemon before."

-"its a Riolu, they are very rare, now help me! Grab those super potions and a warm towel!

Riolu could here nothing but whispers and desperate voices. His vision was blurry and he could not distinguish anything. The only thing he saw clearly were Alex's c hazel eyes and dirty blond hair.

(RIOLU'S POINT OF VIEW)

"Whats going on? Mommy whats going on? Im scared! Where am I? I cant see anyth- Ouch!...whats that!? It stings...what are they doing to m- Ouch! I feel weak I cant stay awake-

(END OF RIOLU'S POINT OF VIEW)

Riolu fainted once again as the burning sensations of the spray hit his fur...

It was about 8:15pm when Riolu finally woke up. He woke up suddenly and lifted itself quickly. The little pup scanned its surroundings with a confused look on its face. Riolu was very scared. It didn't know anyone nor anything in this world it was just a newborn after all. Riolu was laying on a couch, a rather comfortable one, but decided to get down and leave. Everything just seemed to big and scary for him. The only thing Riolu really wanted was to find its mother. As he got down from the couch, Riolu's paws started aching. Riolu drifted his view downward and realized that his arms and paws were bandaged, and all his wound were cleaned and fairly treated. It took some work but after a good 7 minutes, Riolu managed to reach the closed door. Now the challenge was to reach the door nob (^-^)

As Riolu made the attempt to grab the door nob, he felt a tight but cautious grip around his waist.

"Gotcha little buddy!" "Where do you thing you're going little guy?"

"Rio! Riolu!" Screamed the little pup

"Hey, relax buddy Im not gonna hurt you! Its just that you are still to week to go back into the wild. You're gonna have to spend the night here pup..."

"Ri..olu?" The dog said in a more calmed tone

"Hi! My name is Alex! I found you injured near the forest and took care of you" "I also found your egg so I'm guessing you're a newborn"

"Um, also I hope you don't mine, but, I kind of "examined" you to see what you were" said Alex blushing slightly. "I wasn't surprised. Most Riolu's are males anyway.

Riolu didn't responded to that last comment, he just blushed a little. But he didn't mind that Alex had done that. Something in his aura told him he was worthy of him, like if something was telling him to stay with him. Suddenly and urged overtook Riolu's body as he hugged Alex around his neck and pulled him closer. Riolu started licking Alex's cheek when he was pulled away.

"Jaja looks like someone is affectionate!"

"Rio Rio!" He said in a happy tone.

"Hey are you hungry? Now that I think of it, you haven't eaten anything since you were born! Why don't I feed you something?"

"Riooluuu!" He said chirping loudly!

"Alright lets see what we got here...well Prinplup ate the last of the pokefood...sooo how about some soup? "Its chilly anyway.

"Ri rio!"

Riolu sat on Alex's lap as his mouth watered from seeing the soup Alex had made for him. Alex grabbed a spoon and started feeding Riolu. As he was eating, Riolu started smiling and moaning. He had never even tasted food and this was incredibly delicious!

When Riolu was full he leaned on Alex's stomach and closed his eyes yawning.

"Hmm looks like someones tired" "what time is it?" Alex glanced at the clock

"10:23!?" "How much time did we spent down here,no wonder why you're so tired!

"Riolu" he said moaning, already half asleep.

"How about if we go up stairs?"

"Ri!"

The storm kept swirling up and thunders were beginning to strike near Mount Cornet by the time Alex and Riolu got to his room. Alex made a little comfy bed using pillows and blankets for Riolu. Alex took of his clothes and stayed on his underwear as he covered himself under the blankets. Riolu tried to climb up to bed but was too little and weak to get up (^-^)

"Sorry Riolu, but I kind of like my own space when sleeping, thats why I made you a bed. But if you need something don't doubt to wake me up ok?

Riolu didn't responded, just nodded. He was quite sad because Alex wouldn't let him sleep on the bed but instead of complaining, he got on all fours and laid on his blanket pillowed bed.

"Good night Riolu!"

"Good night mom..." Said Riolu in poke-speach to himself as he drifted up to sleep.

It was 3:57 in the morning and the storm had taken a twist for the worse. The thunders were louder than ever and little Riolu was scared as hell.

BAM! A thunder struck right in front of the street were Alex's house was located scaring Riolu even further

"RIOLUUUU!" The little puppy screamed loudly waking Alex.

"For Gods sake Riolu what the hell, why are you screaming like that at 4:00 in the morning!?" Alex said scoldingly!

"RIOO!" The pup started sobbing uncontrollably.

"How could you be so stupid? His just a baby you dumb!" Alex though to himself as he picked Riolu and hugged him tightly.

"You are scared of the storm are you?"

"Rio..." He said a little embarrassed...

"Don't worry pup...ok ok! You can sleep with me..."

"Rii! Riolu gasped and smiled!

"But with one condition! If you wake me up again I'm gonna be really mad, do you understand!?"

Riolu nodded as Alex covered both of them under the blankets.

BAM! Another thunder struck in front of the house scaring Riolu again.

"Don't worry sweetie" "i will always protect you

Riolu's eyes gazed in Alex's hazel eyes as his gazed on Riolus blood red eyes.

"And remember, I always keep my promises."

Alex hugged Riolu even tighter than before, as both fell asleep once again.

(To be continued)


	2. Chapter 2:

As the sun started coming up and the light reappeared in Canalave city, rays of sunlight penetrated the window in Alex's room. As much as warm the room was because of the natural light, it was quite annoying to have so mush light on your face. The starlies outside started chirping as they always did and the neighbors houndoom started barking again. It was just a matter of time before anyone at the house would wake up. Of course it had to be our young man Alex.

"Crap, first I get a bunch of sunlight hitting on my face and then that stupid houndoom starts blabbing! Just perfect! Why is it that I can never sleep in this house!?" Alex got out of bed and covered the curtains to deflect the sunlight, at least thats one less problem to deal with. He hadn't noticed, but Alex was not alone in bed. Just like last night, the little puppy was happily asleep on top of Alex's pillow. "Of course! He didn't like his own little bed I made for him but he loves mine..."Riolu opened one eye and fixed it on Alex. He could hear his complains, but instead of getting up he just yawned exhaustingly.

"That dog even slept better than I did and he woke up terrified in the middle of the night...seriously I need some sleep!" Alex crawled back into bed but couldn't get himself comfortable. "Move pup! Seriously! This is my bed not your's! He said in a very serious and rather intimidating tone. Riolu was fast asleep and was not even close to be awaken.

"I said MOVE!" Alex screamed and pushed Riolu towards the edge of the bed. Riolu was caught of guard, and clearly,Alex, in that mood, didn't calculated his strength. The little pup didn't had time to react and soon fell to the ground, head first.

"Rio! The pup complained

"Oh shut up! Im not in a position to argue! I told you I don't like sleeping with others!

The pups eyes started to water as he was being scolded by Alex. Riolu could not contain himself for much longer and bursted out crying hysterically.

"RIO...LU...*sobs*...RIO! The pups screams started to annoy Alex even further.

"This is definitely not my day!" Alex said out loud as he got out of bed once again. "Come here pup, its ok sweetie".

Riolu backed away fearing Alex would spank him or punish him for disturbing his sleep.

"Como Riolu, I'm not gonna scream anymore, nor scold you...its just that I'm not a morning person...

"Jee you think!? Said Riolu in poke-talk.

"Just why don't we forget about this and get into bed, ok?"

Riolu nodded in agreement while lifting both of his arms so Alex would lift him up. Alex immediately took the hint and grabbed Riolu from the waist and lifted him up into the air. He pulled him closer to his chest and laid on the bed. With Riolu on top of him, Alex started scratching him behind his right ear and managed to get a soft "purr" from Riolu.

"You like how that feels don't you?

"Rioluuuu!" He said softly, as he started drifting away.

Alex kept petting Riolu on the head for a good 15 minutes when he finally started to fall asleep himself, when suddenly-

BEEP, BEEP, BEEEP, BEEP! Alex's alarm clock went off.

"You've got to be FREAKING KIDDING ME!" Alex outraged as another thing disturbed his beloved and needed sleep! Riolu, in an attempt to avoid getting hit again, jumped and ran towards the door of the room. He tried to get out but could not reach the door nob alone!

"I GIVE UP! IM SO NOT SLEEPING ANYMORE!" Alex screamed as he went into the bathroom.

Riolu was still a little bit scared by Alex's outrage and couldn't afford another hit. His wounds weren't exactly healed to a 100%. The puppy was standing still by the door of the room. He seemed uncomfortable and he didn't have a clue of what to do next. He couldn't get out of the room and he didn't know where Alex had gone exactly. Riolu heard the sound of running water and saw some steam coming out of the room Alex had entered. Curiosity overtook him as he started peaking through the gap in the door. Not really knowing why, Riolu decided to enter. He couldn't see that well because of the steam. but he knew that he was in a bathroom. Riolu saw Alex underwear tossed in the floor and suddenly saw a figure to his right. He could see a naked Alex through the glass shower. Riolu blushed fiercely to the sight of a naked human, but it was not his embarrassment that intrigued him; a weird feeling did. He felt like it was an emotion, but not quite that, it was more like an urge. An urge to touch the human, to get closer to him. Riolu started entering the shower without Alex noticing, and when he was about to turn, Riolu hugged his leg as hard as he could, giving him a big surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Alex screamed!

"RIOLUUU! Riolu said happily while hugging and kissing Alex's leg.

"RIOLU! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?"

Riolu stopped his affectionate act when Alex grabbed him from his wrist and kicked him out of the bathroom(he did not actually kick him out) Riolu stood in front of the closed door with a poker face, not knowing how to feel...he just wanted to surprise Alex...what had he done wrong?

It was about 7:45 in the morning, 15 minutes had passed since the shower incident and Riolu was still sitting quietly on the floor waiting for Alex. Suddenly Riolu heard the door open and saw a penguin like pokemon enter the room. He was about 5 inches taller than him and his ocean blue eyes gazed at Riolu's blood eyes.

Pokemon speech:

"Who are you and what are you doing in my masters bedroom?" Said the penguin pokemon. "Are you trying to steal something!? Are you here to hurt my master!? The unfamiliar creature started to rise its voice. It was getting on Riolus nerves.

"N-no! I-im not a theif! And dont want to hurt anyone!" Riolu replied shyly but in a stand up way!

"You liar! I can see it in your face! You just haven pick anything to steal! Thats it! Your waiting to see whats more valuable, and as soon as we are all distracted, you will steal it and run away! But I wont let that happen." As the pokemon finished his accusation, a blue watery orb started forming in between his wings. The water pulse started growing bigger and bigger by the second, and Riolu's fear expanded just like the blue orb between the pokemon wings. The penguin pokemon was about to release his attack when someone interrupted him.

"Prinplup! What are you doing with that water pulse?! You were going to attack Riolu weren't you? Alex said in an interrogating manner as he stood between the two pokemon.

"Plup plup!" Primplup said hysterically! Alex could only hear Prinplup repeat his name over and over, but he meant to say something different. "No master, his a thief!" Were his words.

"Look Prinplup, this right here is Riolu (Alex pointed at the puppy and placed him on his lap.)I found him yesterday in the woods. He was badly injured so I brought him here. Also, his just a newborn so play nice!

"Prin-prinplup!"

"Alright I'll take that as a yes sir!" "So what do you think guys? How about some breakfast?" Riolu's tummy growled loudly and Prinplup nodded at his trainers suggestion. Alex carried Riolu on his arms and the penguin pokemon followed. However, Riolu couldn't help notice the hateful glare Prinplup gave him on the way to the kitchen.

All three left and all three arrived at the kitchen, but there was still some tension between Riolu and Prinplup. It didn't took Alex long to notice this.

"Ok guys, I know you just met but at least try to get along..." *sigh* "Im just glad Ponyta and Staraptor are not like you Prinplup...I mean, not so territorial". Riolu, upon hearing this exchanged a nervous look with Alex. "Don't worry pup, Ponyta is very sweet and loving, she will love to have you around. And I don't think Staraptor would mind at all. He keeps everything to himself...If anything, you have to worry about this guy" (Alex pointed at Prinplup and pulled him for a hug)."Anyway, how does bacon, eggs and some french toasts sound like?"

"Primplup!"

"RI!" Both pokemon yelped happily!

Alex started preparing breakfast while both pokemon were sitting on the living room. Riolu in one side of the couch and Prinplup on the other. Riolu was very uncomfortable, while Prinplup just sat there staring at the back yard. Riolu didn't notice it before, but this was quite a house. He hadn't seen the whole house, but it was definitely big. After all, Alex had two sisters, his parents and by some odd reason, they had two guest bedrooms. Riolu then realized that one of those guest bedrooms belonged to Prinplup. Riolu turned his head in the other direction,and looked at the garden. It was full of beautiful roses and flowers that Riolu had never seen before. There was also a large pond and a big "bird playground" hanging from the trees, which belonged to Staraptor. Riolu kept watching the garden when Prinplup interrupted his train of thought

Poke-talk:

"What are you looking at pup!? Stop staring at me!"

"W-what? I wasn't staring at you! I was looking outside!"

"Yeah! Whatever you say filthy dog!"

"why are you so mean to me!? I haven't done anything to hurt you!"

"What are you talking about?!" Prinplup got up and stood in front of Riolu, as if not letting him escape.

"Its just t-that...I get the feeling you don't want me here...I've seen how you glare at me!"

"How dare you accuse me of not wanting you or glaring at you! You don't even know me! Riolu didn't have time to respond, because Alex called them for breakfast.

"Ok guys! Please help yourself!" Prinplup sat in a chair while Riolu sat on Alex's lap once again. As Alex started cutting Riolu's breakfast into small pieces, the puppy couldn't help notice that the penguin Pokemon skillfully dominated the eating utensils and could feed himself alone. "Don't worry sweetie, you'll get to use those later on, but how about if I feed you for the moment?" Said Alex as he understood what Riolu was thinking. "Rio!" Moaned the puppy as Alex started putting food in his mouth.

After breakfast,Alex, Prinplup and Riolu were full and happy. "Boy I love eating!" exclaimed Alex! As all three sat on the living room watching TV, Alex took a glance at Riolu. "Oh right! I forgot to check your wounds!" Screamed Alex, surprising both Riolu and Prinplup.

"Rio?" Said Riolu staring intently at Alex.

"Come here pup, lets see how you're doing!" Alex grabbed Riolu carefully and unwrapped the bandages on his paws and tail. As Alex finished taking the bandages off, it was reveled that Riolu was healing quite fast. His bruises were still there but his scratches and slashes were all dried up.

"Wow your doing excellent sweetie! I just hope these wont leave a scar...does it still hurt? Alex asked"

"Rio!" Riolu nodded, stating that it still hurt in some places.

"Well...I guess the right thing to do is to take you to the Pokemon Center." But first you need to take a bath! You stink and it would be embarrassing if nurse Joy saw like this!" He said. Riolu blushed a tender pink to Alex's last comment when suddenly Prinplup started jumping and complaining.

"Hey chill Prinplup! We'll train when I get back ok?"

Prin-prinplup :( he replied in a disappointed tone.

"Dont give me that look! Alex said.

"Ok buddy lets get into the shower shall we! (Talking to Riolu)

Once in the bathroom upstairs, Alex turned on the faucet and filled the tub with warm water and bubbles. Riolu stood in a corner of the room waiting for Alex to give him instructions on what to do next. When the tub was filled Alex called Riolu to get closer. He happily obeyed.

"Is it warm enough or too hot?" Asked the human as Riolu touch the water and examined its temperature.

"Rio ri!" Said the pup and he immediately jumped inside the tub creating a huge splash and wetting everything around the shower.

"RIOLU! LOOK AT THE MESS YOU'VE MADE!"

"Rio-lu?" Said the dog as if he didn't understand what he had done, not knowing wether to cry or not.

"Ugh don't worry, I'll clean it up." Alex got up and grabbed some towels and started mopping the floor as Riolu sat quietly in the middle of his small pool. When Alex was done cleaning he kneeled in front Riolu and started putting some shampoo in the puppy's head.

"Rio..mmm". Alex gentle touch managed to relax Riolu and get a moan out of him. As he finished washing his head, Alex grabbed Riolus paws and started scrubbing the filth away. He repeated the same process with every part of Riolu's body, tail and everything. And after a half hour, Riolu was cleaner than ever!

"There nice and clean!" Alex said as the smell of the cocoanut shampoo pleasured his nose. Riolu wagged his body one last time to get rid of the remaining water drops in his fur(like a dog would do) and ended up looking puffier than expected; it made Alex chuckle!

"Jaja, you look so cute!" Here let me fix your fur." Alex said as he started combing Riolus fur and made it look like before. "There, now we can go to the Pokemon Center!" Alex finished putting away all his pokemon bathing utensils and carried riolus towel on his arms. As he exited the bathroom the little puppy followed him form behind.

Alex grabbed his bicycle and position little Riolu in his lap. He started pedaling towards the Pokemon Center. The road was a little bumpy, it made Riolu jump several times. "Carful Riolu, hold on tight we are almost there". Alex kept ridding his bike for 5 more minutes until they got to their destination. Alex parked his bike and entered the Pokemon hospital. As the sliding doors opened, Alex, carrying Riolu on his arms, walked towards the main counter.

"Hi Alex!

"Hi joy! Hows your mom?

"She's doing fine thanks for asking! How may I help you?"

"Oh yes! Could you give this little guy a check up? I found him yesterday on the forest but he was to weak to bring him here, so I took care of him, but some of his wound haven't healed...

"Sure! I'll take care of him." Alex gave Nurse Joy his trainer ID and some money for the check out, as she indicated her chancy to take Riolu to the examination room. As Riolu was placed on a cart, Alex waved goodbye to him and told him that he would wait there until the check out was finished.

It was 10:35 in the morning. 45 minutes had passed since Alex had dropped Riolu off in the Pokemon Center, and he was dosing off in the waiting room when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

"Alex! Wake up."

"Huh?"

"Its me, Jenny!(class mate and former crush! (^-^))

"J-jenny? What are you doing here?

"My Espeon got injured in a battle...what are you doing here? I thought you were leaving today."

"I was, but someone got in the way..."

"Someone?"

"Yeah, rather more like a black and blue dog got in the way!"

"...ok I'm gonna need more details..." Jenny said confused.

"Jaja. I found an injured Riolu yesterday and I took care of him. I brought him here for Nurse Joy to check on him, and that kind of messed up my plans...

"A Riolu? Alone by itself?

"Yeah, actually he was a newborn. His egg was shattered near the place I found him.

"Dont you think its weird that he wasn't traveling in a pack, or with a Lucario?

"I haven't really thought about it. But now that you say it, it is weird. Riolus do travel together..."

"Any signs of his trainer?"

"No. I searched the area but didn't found a thing. Hi is technically a wild pokemon..."

" well, and are you planning to keep it?"

"I don't know...I haven't really think about it. I was just so concentrated in saving him it never really crossed my mine...

Their conversation was interrupted as Nurse Joy entered the room carrying Riolu in a cart. The pup looked 10 times better than before, he looked fresh and happy.

"Im glad to inform you the we have healed Riolu to a 100%! His now at full strength!"

"Thats great, thanks Nurse Joy!" Said Alex as he held Riolu in his arms.

"I also recommend you to give him some baby chow(stupid name for food, i know) he is not quite ready for normal pokemon food."

"Oh, alright! Thanks Nurse Joy! Bye Jenny, see ya later!"

Alex turned away and left the Pokemon Center. He was certainly glad that Riolu was fine, but he couldn't stop thinking about what Jenny had said...I really never consider Riolu as my pokemon...my team is, well, developed, and he is just a baby...it would take me some time and patience to raise him and train him; and we all know I lack both patience and time...God what should I do? Should I ask him to tag along? I don't even know if he wants to join my team...ugh please give me a sign!

As Alex turned to grab his bike a young boy, perhaps two years younger than Alex, approached him.

"Hey! Where did you found that Riolu!?"

"Huh? Excuse me are you talking to me?"

"No, I'm talking to the wall, of course I'm talking to you! Where did you find that Riolu!? The young mans voice started to rise up.

"Why do you wanna know?" Said Alex in a preoccupied tone.

"Because I lost a Riolu egg two days ago in the forest! I've been looking for it!

As those last words escaped the young boys lips, Alex started feeling a knot in his stomach. Yes, he didn't know how to feel about little Riolu, nether he knew if he wanted to keep him;but if he was feeling so bad, it only meant that he did care for Riolu, and now he had to give him up...what should he do? Lie?He couldn't do that! He couldn't lie to the desperate boy...Alex had asked for a sign, and a sign was given to him...this, was Riolu's real trainer...

(To be continued)


	3. Chapter 3

It was a beautiful saturday afternoon in Canalave city, and our friend Alex was in the backyard of his house, training his Pokemon. In the large patio, a penguin-like pokemon could be seen swimming in a large pond, an oversized bird flying swiftly in the sky, and a fire pony running around a dirt track. For a closer view, Prinplup, Alex's first pokemon, was performing water tricks, formations and dogging attacks, while Ponyta, Alex's second, and only female Pokemon, improved her speed. Finally, Staraptor was flying around the house dogging several objects that Alex threw at him. It seemed like a perfect day of training, but for Alex something was missing...in other words, someone was missing. It had been two weeks since Riolu and Alex had parted in differed ways. Alex hadn't even heard about Riolu in those two weeks. He didn't know anything about the little pup...he tried his best to forget about him, but still, he couldn't forget about Riolu...

"Keep it up Prinplup!" We're no even half way through! Focus! Aim at that nearby tree and hit it with a water pulse!

"Prinplup!" Responded the penguin as a water orb started forming between his wings. Once the orb was big enough, Prinplup charged it toward the tree.

"Alright! Staraptor. Deflect the water pulse with brave bird!"

"Star!" Suddenly, the bird pokemon, almost immediately landed and wrapped himself in a blue fire. Staraptor gracefully but efficiently cut the water pulse in half, causing a water explosion. Upon hearing the boom of the explosion, Ponyta paused her running and moved to where Alex stood.

"Great job you two! Prinplup, that water pulse keeps better and better every time. And Staraptor, that brave bird will surely defeat anything!

"Star staraptor!" The bird pokemon chirped and flew high in the air happily! He soon landed in his personal playground in the trees. At the same time Prinplup grabbed Alex hand and asked for some rest.

"Prin...plup..." Said the tired pokemon.

"You're tired aren't you? Asked Alex. He asked for no reason, as he knew exactly what Prinplup wanted..."Go ahead, get some rest sweetie. I'll work with Ponyta while you recover!" Alex told Prinplup. The penguin Pokemon nodded as he went into the house to get some rest. "Ok Ponyta! I want to see some flaming action! Fire blast!"-

And thats how the next hour went by, training, training,training, when-

RING! RING! RING!

"Oh! Thats my phone!" Exclaimed Alex. "Take five Ponyta, I'll be right back!." Alex entered the living room to check who was calling him: it was Jenny. "Weird, she never calls me...something must have happened" said Alex as he answered the call.

"Hello? Jenny?"

"Hi Alex! How are you"

"Um...fine? Why are you calling?

"Oh, so now I can't call my friend? Since when is that?

"No of course you can call me, its just that you never do, so I though something happened.." Alex said shyly

"Oh no everything's fine!" I was just calling to see if you wanted to do something? Me and Jess are going to the theatre festival tonight and we thought you would like to come!

Oh! Sure what the hell! See ya both there! Well bye-

"WAIT!"

" oh, sorry, I though you were done..."

No, its ok! Its just..that...I heard what happened with Riolu...are you ok? They told me you postponed your journey after giving him back..."

" I didn't postponed my journey because of Riolu, and yes I'm fine.

"Are you sure? Why don't you tell me over some coffee?

"Why would I wanna do that?" Asked Alex

"Because you haven't spoken to ANYONE since the last two weeks!" Jenny was right...Alex had shut himself from the world and hadn't spoken to anyone for two weeks...this Riolu stuff did get to him bad...

"Ok! Fine! I'll talk to you!" He said angrily.

"Perfect! See me at the Brew in an hour, bye!"

"Bye" Alex hung up the phone and returned outside where Ponyta and Staraptor were. "Hey, guys I'm meeting Jenny at the Brew in an hour, Ponyta your coming with me. Staraptor, you and Prinplup stay here resting.

"Pon-Pony!" Neighed Ponyta,while Staraptor got comfy in his aerial bed.

"We'll just walk from here, lets go girl." Said Alex

"Pon-Pony!" Said Ponyta as her trainer patted her neck, and they headed outside.

Alex was walking beside Ponyta in the street. He seemed awfully distracted.

"Pony!" Said the horse Pokemon, nuzzling on her trainers chick.

"Jaja, I'm fine girl, I promise...its just...that I cant stop thinking about him...I don't know why but...his new trainer...I just have a really bad feeling about him...

"Yta!" The horse neighed!

It only took 35 minutes to get to the Brew from Alex's home. He was actually early for his meeting with Jenny. And after waiting and waiting Jenny finally showed up.

"Whats up Jen?"

"Not much Al!" But we are not here to talk about me, lets sit!" She always had the dominant woman glare with Alex.

As both ordered their coffees, Alex started telling the story that he couldn't het get of his mind for the past 15 days.

Flashback:

"Hey! Where did you found that Riolu!?"

"Huh? Excuse me are you talking to me?"

"No, I'm talking to the wall, of course I'm talking to you! Where did you find that Riolu!? The young mans voice started to rise up.

"Why do you wanna know?" Said Alex in a preoccupied tone.

"Because I lost a Riolu egg two days ago in the forest! I've been looking for it!

WHAT!? Thats were I found this little guy." Said Alex with an astonished look" I was on my way home when I found him injured in the woods, an egg was beside him!"

"Exactly!" Said the other boy! "My name is Jason, I'm your Riolus real trainer! I was training my Infernape in the woods when one of his attacks caused an explosion, which made my egg roll down the hill...I went after it but I only found the broken egg, no Pokemon...Said Jason.

"I saw the pokemon moving so I got close to him. He was badly injured, thats why I took him, to heal him! Said Alex, trying to explain what had happened.

"Him? His a male?"

"Yes" replied Alex

"Oh...I wanted a female one...they are less common.."

Suddenly Jason extended his arms and stole Riolu from Alex. He hugged him tight. Riolu didn't like this and freed himself as soon as the other human grabbed him.

"Rio-Rio!" Protested the puppy. As if saying he didn't wanted to go with Jason.

" hey wait a minute!" Said Alex!

"What?" Asked Jason

"How do I know you are not an opportunist trying to get a rare pokemon!? Interrogated Alex. Jason reached for his bag and grabbed some papers. It was Riolus empty birth certificate, were it clearly stated that he was given a Riolu egg months ago.

"Im suppose to fill this with Riolu's information, but I lost him before he hatched. Do you need more proof?" Said Jason. Alex grabbed the birth certificate...he was his trainer after all.

"I guess you are his owner...said Alex quietly."Well...the right thing would be for you to take him." Alex's heart was close to become broken.

"Well thanks for taking care of him" said Jason as he pulled his hand on his pocket and revealed a pokeball, Riolu's pokeball. Jason pointed the ball at Riolu, but before the red laser could touch the puppy, this one jumped and hided behind Alex's legs.

"Whats the matter!?" Exclaimed Jason. "Common! Get in the ball I don't have much time! Riolu could hear Jason's orders, but he didn't obeyed them, instead he stayed behind Alex. He was staying with him no matter what, or at least thats what he though. Suddenly, Alex kneeled in front of Riolu with watery eyes.

"Riolu, you need to go with him!"

"Ri-Ri-Riolu!" The puppy started crying a little and got upset at Alex's order.

"Look I know you don't want to, but his your real trainer. He was very worried about you, and it would be wrong if you didn't go with him."

"Ri-Ri-Riolu! The puppy was crying hysterically at this point. Jason reached for Riolu and lifted him up into his shoulders. Riolu didn't stop crying, instead his cry's got louder and louder as he got farther from Alex.

"RIOOOOOLUUU!RIIII! *crys* RIOOOO! RIOOLUUU! *crys*.

"Shut up you stupid dog! "Scolded Jason as Riolu started kicking and moving, trying to free himself from his trainers embrace. But it was useless...as Jason took Riolu down the street, the puppy kept screaming:

"MOMMY! PLEASE DONT LEAVE MEEE! MOM! WHERE ARE THEY TAKING MEE! PLEASE DONT GO! I PROMISE TO BE A GOOD BOY! DONT LEAVE ME MOMMY! In poke talk...

End of flashback

"Wow" exclaimed Jenny...

"Yup"

"So, just like that? This random boy comes, and takes your pokemon away!? Jenny asked a little angry.

"He wasn't my pokemon, and he wasn't a random guy, he was his trainer..." Said Alex.

"Yeah...but steal...its...its just so sad. I mean you two looked so happy together."

"Happy? Asked Alex. "We were only together for two days. Two freakin days! How can we look "happy"?

"I dont know. When I saw you two at the pokemon center...you guys, looked...like if you were meant to be trainer and pokemon..."

"ugh I don't even know what you're saying anymore, whats that supposed to mean?" Said Alex in a sad tone.

"Forget it, your useless! Have you even heard of him in the past few weeks? Jenny asked softly.

"No...I just hope he is ok.."

In the outskirts of Canalave city, a little two story home stood near the deck on the beach. Through the open window in the wall of the house, a little shadow could be seen. The window lead to a bedroom. A bedroom were a blue with a black mask puppy laid in bed. This was Riolus new home. It appeared that Riolu was sleeping in the center of the bed, but this wasn't exactly the case. The puppy laid in the middle of the bed with both of his arms and paws tied up with a tight leather rope. The little pup also seemed to have a tape pasted on his snout, preventing him from crying out loud. Something was wrong. Why would Riolu be completely immobilized with leather ropes and with a tape on his mouth?

As Riolu tried to free himself, a shadow lifted from the corner of the room. It was a dog like pokemon too, but this one walked in all fours; and the shiny gold rings in his head and body shined bright in the darkness. The Umbreon jumped to the bed and got near the scared Riolu and whispered with a cruel voice:

"He's gonna get you, he's gonna get you real hard! You wont even feel your useless body when you wake up!"

As the dark Pokemon got down of the bed, another figure entered the room. It was Jason, and he was carrying a baseball bat. The 14 year old approached the puppy slowly, and in a terrifying way.

"This will show you why loosing in a battle is bad!" He said as he lifted the bat and swing it hard on Riolus stomach.

MMMMM!RIMMMM!RIOOOOO! Screamed the little dog as the bat kept hitting him repeatedly on the stomach. Riolu felt terrible. He wanted to scream hard for help, but the tape in his snout prevented him from doing so. Jason kept hitting Riolu with the wooden bat while cursing at him."You stupid fucking dog! *slam* "no body...humiliates me in a battle! *slam* " you are useless! *slam* "weak!" *slam* "no body wants you" *slam*.

(RIOLUS POINT OF VIEW)

"PLEASE STOP! I CANT TAKE IT ANY LON- OUUUUCH!PLEASE! IM BEGGIN- OUCH! *crys hard*I PROMISE I WILL WIN MY NEXT BAT-OUCH! *crys harder*!

Riolu's energy was soon drained down. Another hit in the stomach and he would throw up...*SLAM*! As the bat struck Riolus belly once more, the dog felt a stinging pain in his body. He soon started coughing blood. Thankfully, because of his tears and sweat the tape had grown weak and fell down, other wise Riolu would have drowned in his own blood. Riolu kept cuffing blood when suddenly the hits stopped.

"Oh, look who's ruining my bed sheets now, it appears that someone's in for a double punishment!" Said Jason with a cruel and mocking laugh. Riolu wasn't done expelling blood when he was grabbed by the tail and slammed to the wall. "And this is for messing up my bed!"Screamed Jason as he hit Riolu on his behind with the wooden bat.

"RIIOOO!" Screamed the pup!

Now that the tape was gone, Riolu started crying as hard as he could pleading for help. Suddenly a soft voice was heard coming from the hallway.

"Jason? Is everything ok honey?"

"Yeah everything's fine mom!" Said Jason. Upon hearing his mom's footsteps getting near his room, Jason dropped the bat, kicked Riolu on his crotch, and left to stop his mom from entering the room.

"That was quite a beating" said the Umbreon mockingly. "But don't get too comfy...just because you survived this one, it doesn't mean your getting through the week, Hahahahahahaha". As the dark Pokemon laughed in a cruel manner, little Riolu fainted from the lack of energy.

The truth was that, ever since Jason claimed Riolu as his own, life had become miserable for the puppy. Jason was a cruel and demanding trainer. He hated when he lost a battle; and he would punish his pokemon for loosing, no matter how old or how young they were; no matter how big or how small, they all got beaten up. But the beating was just a part of it...Riolu hadn't eaten in three whole days! Jason didnt feed any of his pokemon. He just put on a big plate full of pokechow for all of them, and the bigger ones always ate everything without sharing. Also, whenever Riolu lost a battle, he would get beaten by Jason, and his wounds wouldn't get treated. The puppy could barley walk on all fours. Also, unlike other pokemon, Jason's pokemon didn't sleep on their respective pokeballs. They all sleep outside in the chilly weather. Only the big pokemon like his Salamance and Rhyperior slept inside.

You would normally think that an abused pokemon who sleeps outside would escape easily, but Jason wasn't that stupid. Riolu was tied to a tree with a steel collar around his neck. The collar even weighted more than him! Life was hell for Riolu. In the day he would train intensively only to loose all battles and get beaten up, and at night he would have to survive the harsh weather and sleep outside. He nearly cried himself to sleep every night. Riolu wanted to get away from Jason so badly! And he blamed himself for not trying to escape when Alex gave him away. He was not mad at Alex at all. In fact he missed him soo much. The only thing Riolu wanted was his mother, his Alex, and that was a dream he couldn't accomplish...

It was 7:45 and Alex, Jenny, and Jess were at the theatre festival. Ridiculous amount of movies and studio sets were in display for the crowed. All pokemon that debuted in the movie making industry were present, and the neon light illuminated the night sky.

"So, what do you girls wanna do? I heard their having a pokemon battle showcase at 8:00."

"It sounds interesting!" Said jess.

"Yeah lets go" said Jenny.

All, three of them walked to the pokemon stage were the battle would take place when something caught Jenny's attention. It was a light blue tail!

"Hey..um Alex?"

"Yup?"

"Its not to bother you but...isn't that Riolu?

Alex took a glance and saw a little blue puppy in the crowd. The dog was holding a boys hand. A very familiar boy actually.

"Hey! Jason! Its me...Alex! Riolu!" Alex tried to get the boys attention, but it didn't work, they both soon disappeared in the crowd. Was he imagining things?

A few minutes later, the battle exhibition had started. Lots of new and marvelous Pokemon formed part of the activity. Millions and millions of exquisite battles took place in the arena, and Alex was enjoying every single moment of the showcase. The powerful Garchomps, the beautiful Lopunnies, the adorable Pachirisus, and many kinds of other pokemon took the stage and left the public in awe. The moment was just perfect. Alex was having the time of his life, until the next contestants got in the arena...

"Wait a moment! That Jason! His part of the exhibition! Alex yelped in surprise.

As the crowed screamed and cheered, Jason tossed a pokeball in the air, revealing his incredible Infernape. Then, his opponent, a beautiful girl named Jade, revealed her teammate: an extraordinary Honchkrow. As both animals started fighting, the battle became more exiting. With just two flame kicks, Infernape managed to take Honchkrow down. The crowd went coo coo for Jason as the first round ended, but the battle wasn't over yet. Jade grabbed her second and last pokeball, and threw it high in the air. As the light blue light settled in the arena, a fully grown Tyranitar materialized. Alex could see that Jason was very nervous, he never though he would have to face a Tyranitar.

As the second round started, Jade went with full offense. With several rock slides and crunches, Infernape was out for good. This certainly didn't make Jason happy.

"Infernape, get back!" Jason lifted his pokeball and returned Infernape to his "capsule". I'll get to you later you useless monkey!". Said the human in an angry tone.

A while passed until Jason made his decision of releasing his next pokemon. To the crowds surprise, Riolu was his next contestant. In reality, Jason had only trained Infernape for the exhibition. He was so sure he would win both rounds he didn't trained his other pokemon, and little Riolu was his only choice. Jason reached the conclusion that it was better to loose than to forfeit the match.

Alex was quite worried...Riolu was just two weeks old... Was he strong enough to take that Tyranitar? What happened next made Alex jump from his seat! Tyranitar had crushed Riolu with one paw and knocked him out with one hit. Alex could feel Riolus pain in his chest, it made him think about the day they first met, when he founded him almost dead in the forest.

"Ughh stupid useless pup! You're the worst and weakest of them all!" what Jason did next made the crowd gasp. As he got near Riolu, he blowed a quick kick on the pokemon's head and then punched him in the knee. Upon seeing this, Alex outraged and ran towards the arena. Riolu was starting to cry when he saw Jason about to punch him again. He closed his eyes, preparing to receive the hit. But the punch never came. As the dogs eyes opened, he could see a familiar person blocking his view. It was Alex! He had taken the hit for him! He really did care for him!

"Dude what the hell were doing to Riolu!?

"He lost! He deserves it."

"No he doesn't!"

Alex, outraged once again and punched Jason in the face, making him bleed.

"You are so paying for that!" Replied Jason furiously.

As both guys engaged in a one on one battle, punches and kicks started blowing in all directions. Jason soon lost the battle,the age difference was quite an advantage for Alex. After all, he was way more muscular than Jason.

"If I ever see you get near Riolu...your gonna regret ever knowing me!" "Now, give me his pokeball!

Jason, very scared, tossed Riolus pokeball to the floor.

"Now, get put of here!" Yelped Alex.

Upon hearing the order Jason fled quickly and was no where to be seen. Alex as well got up quickly and ran toward Riolu. With an immense precaution, the human lifted the dong in his arms and sprinted down the road.

"God I cannot believe what just happened! Why would that bastard hit you like that?"

"Ri-Rio..." The tiredness on the puppy's face made Alex's heart ache.

"Dont worry! The Pokemon Center is just up ahead! "They'll take care of you!" I promise!

Alex's reassuring pleads started to fade away as Riolu began to faint. Every single bit of his canine body ached greatly, but he didn't care. As long as he was with Alex, he wouldn't feel any pain.

(To be continued)


	4. Chapter 4

My New Best Friend, Chapter 4 : the candy maniac

What just happened? Did...did Alex saved me? Where am I? Everything is so...foggy...thats it! Its fog! But, we are in the middle of summer, there's almost no humidity in town. Where did all this fog come from?"

Rising from the steam, a shadow lifted and made its way towards Riolu. It was a jackal like pokemon. It had a dark black mask just like Riolu, but they weren't quite the same. This figure was way taller than the little pup. Riolu barely reached the jackal pokemon's knees. And this pokemon had cream fur in his torso and a very long blue tail. Scared, the little dog retreated, but felt a tight grip of a large paw pulling him closer. As the bigger Pokemon loosened its paw, Riolu managed to pop the question.

"Who..who are you?"

"That, young one, is something you cant know yet." The low and prepotent voice echoed, and made Riolu shivered.

"Why not!" Asked the doggy. "And where are we anyway!?" Riolu started to sound desperate.

"Because you'll get to know...in the future."

"The future? What are you talking about!? And where are we!?". Protested Riolu.

"You, young one, have established a bond with a human. A very strong and special bond. Cherish it, protect it. Because it will be the most beautiful and happiest thing you'll ever have." Said the bipedal creature.

"Answer my question!" Riolu was growling now.

"Hum...you're a stubborn one aren't you? But I'm sure that trait will help you in your journey with that human...so long young one! The jackal Pokemon turned and started walking away. Riolu tried to run behind it, but soon lost sight of it.

"Who was he? Why was he talking about a bond? God I'm so confused!" Exclaimed Riolu. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Riolu started feeling a stinging pain in his forehead!

"Ouch! God! My head! It aches!" Complained the puppy. Soon enough, Riolus paws, legs, thighs, and even his tail hurt. Riolu started loosing his vision, everything was blurry to him. He started stumbling as he walked foward, and soon fell and fainted, wherever he was...as Riolu started gaining consciousness, the Jackal pokemon spoke one last line.

"Huh, you would think that after all this time...he would recognize himself..."

Riolu started feeling a poking and shaking. He slowly opened his crimson eyes and to his surprise, a human was holding his paw. "Oh Riolu thank goodness, you woke up!" Yelped Alex in a happy and relieved tone.

"Rio? (Where am I?)

"Don't worry sweetie! You're ok now...there's no Jason anymore." Said Alex as if trying to calm down the dog. "You are at the Pokemon center. I brought you here after last night's incident with that bastard. Riolu then felt an annoying pain in his head. He lifted his paw and touched his forehead (yeah, like thats gonna make the pain go away)

"Careful pup, don't push yourself! You had a light concussion caused by the kick that brat gave you yesterday."

"Rio Rio!" (Ouch...it hurts a lot mom!)

"Don't worry, they are taking care of you right now! You'll be good as new in no time! Said Alex. Riolu glanced at the clock. It was 12:36 pm. Had Alex stayed all night with him? Did he really care so much as to loose hours of his previously beloved sleep? Riolu's thoughts were interrupted when Nurse Joy entered the private room.

"Oh! Riolu! You woke up!" Said Nurse Joy happily.

"Is everything ok, Nurse Joy?" Asked Alex. He seemed worried.

"Yes everything is fine with Riolu. I just came here to tell you the visiting hours ended about 45 minutes ago, and I cant keep covering up for you..." Said Nurse Joy

"What? Are you sure I cant stay the night here?"

"I've already been covering for you for a while now, and they already asked me to tell you to go home...besides, I'm sure your parents are worried about you..."

"*sigh* ok, I'll leave. But...could you give me just five more minutes?!"

"I'll see what I can do!"

"Thank you! I'll be out in a minute." Replied Alex.

As Nurse Joy left the room, Alex turned to see a drowsing Riolu, almost falling asleep already.

"Sweetie wake up! I need to tell you something!"

"Rio?" (Yes?) Riolu stared intently at Alex as he grabbed something out of his bag. Alex revealed in his hand a red and white capsule with a black stripe in the center. It was Riolu's pokeball.

"I was going to destroy it myself when I had the chance...but I though it would help if you broke it." Alex said as he handed Riolu the pokeball. It all seemed surreal to the little puppy. Alex wanted him to break his pokeball...he was actually giving him a chance of being free...Riolu didn't know what to do. He wanted to be with Alex, but he also wanted to be wild and free;no strings attached. After all his time with Jason, Riolu had lost all faith in trainers...what if Alex got mad at him for loosing and punished him? He certainly didn't wanted to go through that again. Suddenly, Riolu heard a deep voice inside his head. It was the jackal like pokemon's voice! And it clearly said:

"Partner up with him! Establish a bond, cherish it, protect it. Because, it will be the most beautiful and happiest thing you'll ever have."

Really not knowing why, Riolu obeyed that voice in his head. He surely thought he was loosing it, but it seemed like the right thing to do. As Riolu placed the ball in Alex's hand, he managed to get a surprised look from the human.

"Riolu...whats this? Don't you want to destroy it?" Riolu shook his head slightly.

"Rio rio!"(no, I wanna go with you!) Alex couldn't really understand the pokemon speech, but he had a good idea of what Riolu meant.

"Sooo, what does this mean? You wanna come with me? You want to be my pokemon?" Interrogated Alex. This time, the emanation pokemon nodded and, despite the aching pain he felt, hugged his new trainer. Everything was unexpected for Alex, but as he returned the loving hug, a group of words escape his lips.

"Welcome to the family sweetie, welcome to the family!"

The next morning, Alex woke up in a hurry. He promise Riolu that he would go and see him first thing in the morning. He had never woken up so fast in his life! He got out of his bed and took a quick shower. After dressing himself up and going downstairs for some breakfast, someone he didn't expected greeted him from his kitchen counter.

"Speaking of the devil! Our Pokemon savior!" Said a familiar voice. A tall handsome man with royal blue blazer, a spiky hat, dark hair an beautiful blue eyes exclaimed as Alex walked in. A blue jackal like Pokemon stood beside the man.

"Riley!? What are you doing here?!" Alex was quite surprised! He hadn't seen Riley since he traveled to Iron Island last summer.

"I heard about you in the news!" Replied the Aura guardian.

"The news? I was on TV?"

"Yes, yesterday's incident with that other guy...what was his name...oh yeah Jason, was broadcast in the late news. I saw how you got into a fight with him and how you saved that baby Riolu."

"Ok...that makes sense...but why did you come? Its not like someone got killed." Asked Alex

"Well, in reality, I wanted to give you...what should I call it...a piece of advise." Said Riley.

"Advice? What advice?"

"About Riolu! Im assuming you're keeping it."

"Well...yes...I'm keeping him..." Alex said shyly.

"Anyway, the thing is that, that Riolu, according to what I saw on the newscast...he was quite abused by his past trainer..."

"Yes I'm aware of that...but don't worry, the Pokemon Protection Institution is going to take care of him." Suddenly, Alex's mom interrupted.

"Wait! The PPI got involved?" Interrogated the woman.

"Well yeah..." Riley said lightly, like it was an obvious statement, "Jason is an abusive trainer...and they found some "torture equipment stained with Pokemon blood in his house...he could even loose his Pokemon."

"Thats despicable and terrible! How awful!" Yelped the worried mother.

"Yes I know! But could we please talk about something else...just hearing his name makes me angry!" Alex punched his fist on the counter.

"Sure, what I was saying, is that Riolus are quite difficult creatures to raise. They seem cute and easy, but they are very needy and require a lot of attention. The reason I came here, was to give this..." Riley pulled put a small booklet from his blazer and handed it to Alex.

"Whats this? A guide?" Alex read the tittle. It went something like this: "Aura pokemon guide: how to raise your Riolu!"

"Its a book that tells you everything you need to know about Riolus and their species. I know it sounds a little over the top, but trust me, it will help you a lot. It certainly helped me when I had to take care of my little buddy!" Riley glanced at his Lucario as he returned a serious glare and a quiet growl.

"Sorry to say it like this...but I think I can handle a puppy..." Said Alex with a cocky tone.

"You're gonna regret those words kid. Riolus are different than any other puppy. They take a lot of time and patience to domesticate, but if done correctly...well...they can be amazing." Riley once again glanced at Lucario, and this time the jackel smiled in returned. "Just...read the book...and if it doesn't help, you can always return it."

"Ok thanks, I'm sure a little bit of reading wont hurt me" said Alex softly.

"Thats the spirit! Well see ya later!"

"Wait! You're not staying in town?

"Now I gotta get back to work..."

"Oh ok...well see ya soon! Said Alex.

"Bye! Lets go Lucario!"

"Luca!" The jackal Pokemon followed its master wagging his tail in happiness.

It was midday and the sun was shining bright in Canalave city. In the Pokemon Center located in the central avenue, a tired Riolu was just waking up from his sleep. The little puppy opened his eyes to find himself alone in a room, laying on a giant bed.

("Huh? Mommy?...guess he went home...") Riolu was quite bored...Alex had ordered him a private room, so no other pokemon were around for him to talk to. The good thing was that he received the best service, and his room was very luxurious. The blue dog glanced at the nightstand and spotted a black remote. He reached his little paw and started playing with the control. Nothing happened at first, but when he pressed a light green button, the TV went on! Riolu was startled at first; he didn't know were the sound was coming from. But he soon realized it was just the television. An ugly woman was shown in the screen and the words "Aggressive outburst at the Theatre Festival" were projected bellow. But before Riolu could understand what was going on, Alex entered the room.

"RIO RIOLUUU!" The puppy launched himself into Alex's arms; but soon started whining as the pain settled in his body. He wasn't ready to move so quickly, but he really didn't care. He was just happy Alex had come to see him.

"Careful! You're not completely healed yet! Exclaimed Alex. Riolu tilted his head down and nuzzled his trainer in the chest. As Riolu and Alex embraced on a hug, Jason's image was shown on the TV. Upon seeing this, Riolu started trembling and gulping. Alex almost immediately tried to calm him down.

"Shhh, dont worry sweetie...everything's fine,that brat wont bother you again. I took care of him! Ok, so calm down...are you hungry? Do you want something?" Alex almost acted like his own mother. Riolu simply nodded as his tummy started growling for food. "Ok I'll be right back". As soon as Alex left the room, from his bag, a pokeball popped open and a bright flash of blue light came out. A familiar penguin Pokemon took form from the bright light.

Pokemon-speech:

 _"Well, well, well! Look what we have here! A little injured Riolu isn't it!_ Prinplup started sounding very cocky.

 _"What do you want?"_ Replied shyly the puppy.

 _"I want nothing from you! Im just here to warn you!"_ Replied Prinplup

 _"Warn me? What are you talking about?"_ Riolu was very confused.

" _I heard you joined our team! How dare you returned to my master when you left him! Is that what he is to you! Just a human from whom you will take advantage?!"_

 _"WHAT! No! First of all. He left me! He made me go! And second of all, I don't want to take advantage of him! He's my mom!_

 _"NO HE'S NOT!"_

 _"YES HE IS! HE TOOK CARE OF ME!_ Riolu wanted to hit Prinplup, but he knew that was a stupid idea...

 _"Regardless of what you think of him...don't you dare cut me out of the picture, you filthy pup!_ " Prinplup smirked.

"What do you mean?" Riolu had a concerned look on his face...

"It means, that if you take my spot in this team...you will be VERY sorry!"

As Prinplup finished that last sentence, Alex entered the room carrying a tray with some food on it. "Here you go sweetie!" Alex placed the tray on Riolu's lap and started spoon feeding him when he noticed Prinplup.

"Prinplup? How many times have I told you not to get out of your pokeball! Return!" Alex pointed the capsule at the penguin, and a red laser shot from the center of the ball. Soon, Prinplup disintegrated into the red light and was "imprisoned" in his ball. When Alex put Prinplup's pokeball away, he turned to Riolu and continued feeding him.

"Oh I forgot to tell you! Nurse Joy said you can return home tomorrow morning!

"Rio!?" (Really? I can go home!?)

"And also! We are going on a journey around Sinnoh too! Are you exited?

"RIII! (YESSSS!)

*chuckles* "I'lll take that as a yes!" Riolu finished his meal (which wasn't that bad, but he stilled preferred Alex's food) and started cuddling besides Alex.

"Sweetie?"

"Rio?"

"I need to go and prepare some stuff for the trip. But you take some rest ok? I'll come for you tomorrow morning." Riolu nodded and calmly stayed in his bed as Alex exited the room. He watched the human walk away in the hall as he started dosing off.

The next day:

Alex was at the counter of the Pokemon Center presenting his ID and papers so he could take Riolu home. After 15 minutes, the discharge process was completed and Nurse Joy handed Alex Riolu's pokeball. "Have a nice journey! Screamed Nurse Joy as Alex walked out. "Thanks have a nice day!" Replied Alex. Once outside in the street, Alex tossed Riolu's Pokeball in the air and let him out. The blue puppy was happy to see The human and to be out of that crowded ball.

"Rio!" The pokemon chirped happily.

"Hi sweetie! Ready to go traveling?"

"RIO RII!" the pokemon started jumping happily. He got a little dizzy but it was ok.

"Jaja, chill little pup! We aren't hitting the road just yet...I need to go buy some medicinal food for you...but after that we are free to start our journey!"

"Riolu!" Riolu was a little disappointed. He wanted to travel besides Alex, but he guessed he could wait a couple of hours.

It was 4:00pm and Alex and Riolu arrived at the Pokemart. The grocery store was full of food, potions, pokeballs, dolls, and what mostly caught Riolu's attention: candy! Alex head towards the pharmacy inside the store. For what he knew, Riolu was behind him all the time...but that wasn't the case. As Alex ordered the special food, the little dog had wandered off. Curiosity was too much for the pup, he obviously had to see what the store had to offer. The aisles were filled with big amounts of food, potions, chips, sodas; but nothing really felt appealing to him...until he got to the Chocolate section.

Riolu's eyes got lost in all the candy, the kisses, the M&M's and all the chocolate bars you could imagine. The smell was making him crazy! He had to have a taste! Riolu carefully grabbed a bar wrapped in a dark envelope. In golden letters the words read "Dark Chocolate, the best treat!" Cautiously and trying not to be seen, Riolu opened the wrapping and took a big bite off the chocolate bar. He was very exited to try something that smelled so delicious...but to his surprise, the chocolate tasted horrible!

"Ughh! *spits out the chocolate* eww! Thats too bitter, its awful!" The puppy cried to himself. Very disillusioned, Riolu continued walking when another candy caught his attention. This time the chocolate bar read "sweet cream!" Telling by the picture in the wrapping, the chocolate was a milk chocolate. It definitely looked delicious! Looking doubtfully, Riolu thought to himself:

"Well...another try wouldn't kill me...besides, it says "sweet" in the cover..." The puppy tore the wrapping and took a bite once again, careful not to take a huge bite this time around. However, this time, the chocolate was... DELICIOUS! the puppy felt it melt inside his snout and all the sugar rushed through his body. He soon grabbed another...and then another...and then another...after just 2 minutes Riolu had eaten 6 chocolate bars! He was halfway done with the seventh, but stopped when his stomach started aching.

"Ugh...I feel so heavy and sooo energized at the same time...ouuuu my head's spinning like crazy!" The Puppy sat for a while, waiting for his pain to calm down a little. It was not getting better, but something;more like a smell, was "calling him". It was a "strong" and "heavy" smell. With a lot of work and trouble, Riolu managed to get up on all fours. He started following the smell. Sniffing and sniffing everything on the aisle, like a real dog. As he got closer to the smell, he got more eager. He even pushed a Vulpix out of his way! After one minute, Riolu had found his prey: it was meat! (Oh oh! Here we go again!) Out of nowhere, Riolu just dug in! He jumped right into the meat section and started munching, chewing and gulping down chunks of raw meat. The juicy flavors of the glorious food turned on Riolu's tasting cells. He had never tried something so incredibly addictive and satisfying in his whole life! Not even the chocolates putted up a fight against the meat! Riolu was in cloud nine, but soon had to be pulled down into Earth when a worker spotted the dog destroying the food.

"HEY! YOU DISGUSTING PEST! GET OUT OF THERE! screamed the worker. But Riolu didn't listen, too busy swimming through rivers of meat. The worker made an attempt to grab the puppy...but again, it was useless. Outraged, Riolu bit the worker in the arm for trying to grab him.

"YOU STUPID BASTARD! SOMEBODY CALL SECURITY!

(Oh oh...things are about to get messy...)

Alex was waiting in line to receive his order.

"I cannot believe how inefficient these people are...Ive been waiting for that worker to bring the food for over 15 minutes now and Im the only customer..."just as Alex got the special food for Riolu, a shocking announcement was made through the speakers:

"Attention security! Your services are needed in the meat section, aisle 17. An undomesticated, wild Riolu is destroying store property. Cleaning assistants please present yourselves in aisle 17, meat disaster, IMMEDIATELY!

As soon as the announcement was finished, Alex turned back to find out that Riolu had wandered off. "OH MY GOOOOD IM GONNA KILL THAT DOOOOGGG!" screamed Alex furiously.

Riolu was still munching down all the food when he felt a tight familiar grip grabbing his waist. He felt he was being pulled away, so he tightly grabbed the railing and wouldn't let go!

"DAMIT RIOLU! LET...GOOO...OF...THE...RAILING...NOW!" Alex had raised his voice and was scolding the little pup, tugging on him with each word but Riolu still wouldn't listen to him. He just kept eating and eating...as Riolu felt he was being pulled harder and harder, he started growling and barking!

"RIOOOO RIIIII WAUFFF RI WAUFFF!"

"ENOUGH WITH THIS NONSENSE! LET GOOOOOOO! Alex had never been more furious in his life! Not even when Ponyta burned his final history essay the day before it was due...

Since pulling was not going to work, Alex grabbed Riolu's pokeball and called the puppy to return. Riolu may have been too concentrated on the meat to follow orders, but that didn't mean he couldn't dodge the red laser. Attempt after attempt, jump after jump, Riolu swiftly dodged every laser his pokeball sent towards him. All of this got on Alex nerves. He couldn't control himself and out of nowhere, the human exploded. As an effect of his anger, Alex strongly slapped Riolu hard on the cheek. This was the puppy's cue that he was doing something wrong.

"Rio!?" (Why did you do that mom!It hurts!)

In that millisecond that Riolu was distracted, Alex quickly grabbed the puppy by the waist and pulled it to his arms. "You're in BIG trouble pup!" Were the first words Alex told Riolu.

"Here, take this!" Alex handed a couple of poke dollars to a worker next to him."I hope it covers for the mess this guy made!" Alex proceed to grab his stuff and sprint down the aisle and out the store.

Outside the store and many meters away:D

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! WHY DID YOU WANDER OFF! AND WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO GO BY YOURSELF! WHAT THE FU*K WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU ATE THAT MEAT!? DO YOU HAVE ANY FREAKING IDEA OF HOW MUCH MONEY I WASTED BECAUSE OF YOU!? YOU ARE IN SOOO MUCH TROUBLE! JUST WAIT UNTIL I FIND A PUNISHMENT FOR YOU!"

Riolu had his head down,looking at his feet...just..listening to his trainer's scolding...it was only a matter of time until Alex beat him up...

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?"

"Yes mom...I'm listening...and I'm sorry...I really am!" Of course, apologizing was useless since Alex couldn't understand him. Riolu had no choice but to cry silently.

"OH AND DONT COME CRYING TO ME! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID THERE WAS TERRIBLY WRONG!"

"Rio...*crys*... Rio riolu!...*cry*.." (im sorry I really am!) As Riolu started crying harder and harder, the thoughts of Jason's beatings came to his mind. The way he swinged that bat. The way Riolu coughed blood on the bed sheets. Riolu couldn't take it anymore and started running away!

"Wait! Riolu were are you going!?" Alex followed the pup,which led him to an abandoned alley. The pup had crawled into a corner and was sobbing hysterically. It made Alex feel bad for him...he knew he was too harsh on him...and he knew he didn't like it when he screamed. Alex slowly got closer to Riolu. He made sure to cover every single "escape space" so Riolu wouldn't run again.

"Hey...um...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have screamed at you...I was too harsh..."

"*sobs*...Rio?...*sobs*"

"I really am sorry...could you forgive me sweetie?"

Riolu made a slight nod and stopped crying. He then felt Alex's hand wrap around him as he lifted him up and pulled him closer. Alex then nuzzled Riolu in his tummy and tickled him, earning a laugh from the pup.

It was the cutest laugh of them all.

(To be continued)


End file.
